Category: Cache In Trash Out

/ Eric Schudiske /

Cache In Trash Out (CITO) – A Lackey’s Story

 

"This CITO's a Beach"

By: MissJenn

The CITO season is thick upon us. This past weekend, several Lackeys joined dozens of other geocachers at two CITO events near Groundspeak HQ.

Dani, LutherNation and myself (MissJenn) participated in “This CITO’s a Beach.”

MissJenn holding the CITO flag

Rain fell heavily as we drove towards the location and when we got there, no one else was in the designated meeting point. Oh no! Did everyone else cancel because of the weather?

Not at all. It was simply the fact that we had arrived an hour early and no one was there yet. This was a perfect opportunity to go find a nearby geocache where we enjoyed views of Puget Sound and listened to the barking of the nearby sea lions.

At the actual start time, gloves and yellow CITO garbage bags were distributed to the many people who braved our typically-wet weather. What at first looked like a very clean little park proved to be a park that really needed our help.

Larger pieces of trash cleaned off the beach

We collected a spare tire, various chunks of discarded metal, fluorescent light tubes, some bad beer that teenagers had saved for a later party, and a car seat . There were plenty of the usual discarded cans and bottles. The highlight of the day was a huge and heavy piece of bulky chain link that was actually still attached to something buried deeply in the sand. I pulled on it and it would not budge. Several more-muscled geocachers came to my aid. We joked that perhaps we ought not to yank it out in case it is the drain plug that keeps the water in Puget Sound. The team eventually managed to “encourage” a weak link to break off and we trashed that very large eyesore off the beach. The sea lions playing nearby looked at us approvingly.

We hauled the litter that we found all the way down the beach, up a steep staircase that crossed the railroad tracks, and through the park to the litter collection point. A job well done!

Trash collected during CITO

Meanwhile, a few miles away, other Lackeys joined nearly 30 other geocachers at the Bellevue Parks Arbor Day CITO.

They planted evergreen trees that towered six or more feet tall. While this was part of a larger tree-planting, there was a portion of this event that was specifically organized by geocachers and for geocachers. It was a great way to give back to Washington, also known as the Evergreen State. Another job well done!

More events like these are coming up all over the world. Please check the CITO calendar to find one near you.

Tell us about your CITO event. What was the most unique piece of garbage you threw away?

/ Eric Schudiske /

A Cache In Trash Out (CITO) Event Branches Out

CITO Event cache, "Come plant a tree"

Vila Real, Portugal – Geocachers in Portugal recently gathered for a Cache In Trash Out (CITO) Event cache.  The geocachers helped the environment, but they didn’t take out bags of trash.  Instead they left something behind.   The group of geocachers planted hundreds of trees in an area of Portugal ravaged by recent wildfires.

Tree destroyed by recent wildfires

Jorge Cardoso, Osodrac Team, organized the CITO called, “Vem plantar uma Árvore” (GC25KYV). The event translates from Portuguese into English simply as, “Come plant a tree.”  More than a dozen geocachers grabbed shovels and got to work on October 16th.

Geocacher planting a tree at CITO event GC25KYV

Cardoso says local authorities were quick to provide the willing geocachers with help. He says, “We talked with the people of the Municipality of Vila Real, who gave us the trees and talked with the President of the Parish of Vila Cova who gave us a plot of land.”

Hugo Silva, SUp3rFM, is the Volunteer Reviewer who published the CITO event.  He says, “I thought of it as a very nice idea. A cool concept. The owner was really into it. He gathered a lot of local support for the authorities, got some equipment, seeds, hardware, etc. His goal was to plant trees on an area that was caught by wild fires in the past. Geocachers would certainly go along. I always say they’re very nice people.”

"Bosque do Geocacher"

The geocachers didn’t just plant trees.  They placed a geocache.  It’s a geocache Cardoso describes as unique for Portugal.  It’s a standard sized cache located near a plaque to geocachers.

The plaque was placed after the CITO event.  The plaque and the new cache have the same title.  They’re both called “Bosque do Geocacher” (GC2FPJW).   It translates to “Geocacher’s Grove.”

Silva says, “I think that we, as a group, have something to say to the non-geocaching community. Our common interest takes us to remote locations to enjoy wildlife and nature, clean out the trash that some forgot along the way, with only a few rewards as a prize: A smile and a great feeling of good will.”

According to Cardoso he’s considering another CITO event next year.  He says, “Finally, I tell you it was an action that left us – Team Osodrac – I, my wife and my son very proud of all of the geocachers’ achievements. We think our great community can organize themselves and work towards a cause that leaves a mark for a more promising future. We believe we have fulfilled our purpose of helping our world, on a small scale, it is true, but what matters is the intention of improving it.”

Geocachers after CITO event GC25KYV
/ Eric Schudiske /

Geocachers climb Mt. Fuji to Cache In Trash Out (CITO)

Mt. Fuji, outside of Toyko Japan, reaches 3,776 m (12,388 ft.) into the sky, but is still not immune from the trash found at lower elevations.  Geocacher atstgm helped organize an ascent of Mt. Fuji to complete a grueling Cache In Trash Out (CITO) tour.

Mt. Fuji CITO

Armed with garbage bags more than a dozen geocachers started hiking up the tallest mountain in Japan at 11:00am on September 3rd.

They stayed over night at a staging area, then began hiking again in the predawn darkness at 1:30am on the 4th.

Mt. Fuji CITO Logbook

The group reached the summit of Mt. Fuji around 5am and began the CITO event by picking up bags full of trash.  They also searched for the five geocaches along the route and at the summit.  Watch this raw video of the ambition climb.

Check out the events calender to see if there’s a CITO event near you.

/ Eric Schudiske /

Boy Scouts Geocaching Merit Badge – Geocaching.com’s Lost & Found Video

This year, the Boy Scouts of America announced their plans for a new Geocaching Merit Badge. Watch our latest Lost & Found video to see how Boy Scout Troop 75 incorporates geocaching into their program. The scout troop from from Manhattan, Kansas also demonstrates some of the critical thinking and problem solving skills needed to earn the badge.

Requirements for the Geocaching Merit Badge are available online.  The official Geocaching Merit Badge patch is in final development and expected to be released in the near future.

Groundspeak is currently hosting a booth at the BSA 2010 National Scout Jamboree in Fort A.P. Hill, Virginia. Scouts there can borrow GPS devices to seek out geocaches hidden in the area during the event, which runs from July 26 – August 4, 2010.

Watch all the Lost & Found stories, which highlight the worldwide adventure of geocaching.

/ Eric Schudiske

Cache In Trash Out, Surf’s Up

Posted By: Lackey Nate the Great

Lackeys Nate the Great (second from left) and Powpea (far right) attending a geocaching event near Chicago

Groundspeak’s Lost and Found tour is in full swing, with Groundspeak Lackeys attending geocaching events spread throughout the world.  Earlier this month Lackey Powpea and I had the opportunity to visit the Second City for the first annual Chicagoland Cache-apalooza. The local geocaching organization, GONIL, hosted a fantastic event including 74 new geocaches placed and published over the weekend.

Before the festivities began, however, we attended a CITO event at the Lucas Berg Nature Preserve in Worth, IL. Here is a little speck of green space in the heart of a metro area whose stated purpose is as a repository for toxic soil dredged from a nearby canal. In short: it’s a dump.

Rather, it was a dump, until some geocachers caught wind of it. Thirty years of indifference and careless wind surfboard disposal (yes, really) provided geocachers the opportunity to put some of their hard-won bush-beating skills to good use. What it lacks in geocaches, it more than makes up for in potential.

No discarded BMX tire or mangled can of Fanta dared escape the eagle-eyed crew. I know at least one local resident would agree the place is much more inviting as a result.

Signal watching the CITO

However, it’s easy to see that altruism of the sort witnessed by this Lackey is not wholly selfless. Sure, getting filthy and comparing sticker-bush abrasions are their own rewards, but by demonstrating responsible stewardship of the land essential to our pastime we act as emissaries for the game. Geocachers sent a clear message to the land manager and community that geocaching is something to be welcomed and encouraged.

Worth Our Support!

What can you do in your community to spread this message?

The future of Lucas Berg Nature Preserve is still uncertain, but geocachers in the Chicago area are making an investment they hope will pay dividends down the road. At the very least, it’s a labor of love not lost on the critters in the little marshy plot of land just off SW HWY 7 and W 111th in Worth, IL.

Lackey Nate the Great

TFTH[ospitality Chicago!]

In: New life to a neglected park and potential geocaching playground
Out: Tires, busted glass, soda cans, 3/4 of a wind surfboard (no sign of the surfer!)